kup kup

go take a look at the fanciful textile artwork by kup kup. she creates "small artworks made with care."

so adorable! i really can't stop looking at it, and had a really hard deciding which pictures to post. i love it all!

holiday craft show!

*****UPDATE*****
turns out i may NOT be going to the craft show. it's supposed to ice something nasty tonight and tomorrow, and i wonder if it would be wise to drive on the interstate. i'll let you know by this evening for sure...
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hey all nebraskans out there in blogland.

i'll be at the christmas gift and craft show at the westside community center in omaha on saturday. stop by and say hello!

circles

have i told you yet that i love circles? well, i do. that was about the only thing i would doodle back in the days of school.

so i fell in love when i saw this stylish calendar by debi van zyl.




she also makes adorably cool crochet creatures. the lady's got great creative range!

paper stars

you have to check out these stunningly intricate paper stars by clandestinearts. here's what she says about them:

"I'm making German Christmas Stars. These beautiful ornaments have their origins in the magical centuries-old Christmas markets of Germany. . . Each star is carefully folded from paper and special foils and cut by hand into intricate designs."

wow. color me impressed! i have a hard enough time making a symmetrical snowflake, and, although all snowflakes are supposed to be different, mine always end up looking lumpily similar.

clandestinearts muct have excelled in the scissor department in kindergarten. check out her work!

return of the key fob

i knew i wasn't going to be able to resist making these. for your purchasing (or window shopping) pleasure, i give you, the key fob:

haru wreaths

i would love to have one of these fabulous paper wreaths by haru. stunning!

she uses vintage sheet music and paper from vintage books to create them. they would be great for the holiday season, but could totally be left up year-round. check it out!

holy page views!

as i told you before, i have a stat counter. it lets me know how much traffic my blog is getting, as well as where those hits are coming from.

i check it a lot. if you asked mr. m, he might say i'm a wee bit obsessed.

i'm excited when i get more than 10 hits a day. seventeen is a really good day.

but holy crapola! i checked it today, and this is what i saw:

whoo hoo, 100 unique visitors! granted, most of those people only view the site for a matter of seconds, but for a relatively new blogger, this is so exciting!

i looked at where all these lovely people were coming from, and discovered that one of my favorite sites, whipup, had posted one of my projects on their site yesterday.

thank you so much, whipup! you made my day (week, month, year...).

**update** i had a grand total of 129 unique viewers yesterday. thanks so much for looking!

let it snow

here's another stocking for what is quickly becoming a collection. they are so fun to make!

you could have all three! wouldn't they look nice on your mantle?

i (heart) mail

i got a lovely package in the mail today, a package i have been patiently (as patiently as a non-patient person can be) waiting for.

it came from far away. want to know what was in it?

ok, i'll tell you.

labels, 200 of them! i'm so excited. i have a gaggle of mini monsters waiting to be stuffed and labeled. now you'll know they were made by me!

i'm really happy with the way they turned out. here's where i got them.

orno earrings

i'm loving the woodsy earrings by orno. here's what she says about her work:

"each piece is cut from a simple plank of exotic wood, before being carefully hand sanded and varnished. Absolutely no color is added - only clear varnish to bring out the natural color and grain of each special wood. The result is an original creation, beautiful in both its inherent simplicity and fine craftsmanship. "

lovely! she also includes cool detail about the types of wood the earrings aremade from. great cocktail party conversation fodder!

wrap up for warmth

brrr. it's bloody cold here in nebraska. what a shock to come home to. yuck.

these gorgeous scarves by dimplegirl*78 are just what i need to keep me warm and pull me out of my grey-sky funk. so simple, with a classy and elegant detail. gorgeous!

moop

i ever so reluctantly returned from my vacation this afternoon. we ate a delicious thanksgiving meal outside by the pool, which is totally weird since at home there was snow. but so lovely!

i hope you enjoyed my thanksgiving-themed post. my favorite was the sexy turkey hat. so awesome!

another of my recent etsy favorites is moop. their bags are super cute, with great lines and colors. (i love grey!) their prices also seem pretty reasonable for handmade bags that large. check it out!

holiday vaca!

hello lovely readers! i am about to take off for the holiday. i'm heading for a warmer climate, and just in time! the threat of snow is looming on nebraska's horizon. it will be a shock to come back to 40 degree temperatures, though...

while i'm gone i may try to sneak in a post or two, but in case i don't get to the computer, i've left you with a list i've scoured from etsy's thanksgiving items. (some should give you a little chuckle. check out the sexy turkey hat. you'll thank me.)

enjoy, and happy turkey day to you!

make your own crochet drumstick.

wear a turkey gobble badge.

make sure your guests wash their hands.

make and wear a sexy turkey hat. because, really, why not?

refuse to eat turkey, and express this nonverbally to your family.

keep your wee one clean.

give your hostess a card.

keep your clothes clean while cooking (and look super cute!)

feeding the beast

there are just a couple of new things up in my shop today. the first one is reserved for a customer, but if you like it i'll make you another.

busy girl

i posted lots of new things to my shop today!

are you ready for the holidays? i don't think i am. i have not made any gifts yet, and as i pledged to give handmade gifts this year, if i don't get on the ball, i may be buying handmade as well as making handmade...

no time for that now! i'm off to fill two more laptop cozy orders, as well as a special project for a special shop. but more on that later. oh, how i keep you in suspense!

quilted cozies

i have not yet tried my hand at quilting. a blanket just seems so daunting. but perhaps i could try something small...

like vintage songbird's adorable quilted items. she has a quilted coaster, quilted pot holder and a quilted ice cream cozy (you need one of those, ep!) so cute!

pretty pottery

i miss pottery. i had planned to return to my pottery shop when the weather turned cooler, but i don't think i'll have the time (or the money) to start back up.

i'll just have to console myself by looking at, and lusting after, other people's gorgeous work. like that of ceruleanblue. lovely! as far as pottery goes, i prefer mine to come in muted, pale tones. just like this!

yet another new project

i told you had the craft ADHD. now you'll have to believe me. after making a laptop bag and an iPod case to fill a couple of orders, i designed another laptop bag. you like?

i had those felt balls lying around for ages. i had to use them. i think they're cute!

after all those projects, i thought it would be fun to try something new. something totally new.

ahh!! a pattern!! i'm gonna say it: patterns suck. i totally lack the patience and discipline for such a thing, but i decided to give it a try. and, for the most part, it worked! i had a few issues with the sleeves, but i more or less figured it out. maybe it was because, after i cut the fabric from the pattern, i didn't bother to look at the pattern again, nor to imprint on the fabric the fold and seam lines. oh well.

this lovely, soft jersey wrap sweater will fit an 18 month-old. if i want to make a larger size, i will have to buy a new pattern, as i sort of destroyed this one. oops!

birth of the key fob

i have a created a key fob. i'm thinking of giving one away with each order. i'd change them up, perhaps to match what was bought. would you want to receive a free key fob with your order? or would you like to buy one outright?

i fear these might become an addiction...

handmade holidays

i went to the home depot a few weeks ago, and was shocked, nay, dismayed, to see a very large holiday display up in the garden section. it was mid-october. yuck.

while annoying, the reminder of the encroaching holidays is good impetus for us crafters, who balk at the idea of dueling with mall shoppers, and prefer instead to give gifts of the homemade variety. (i think my family is getting a wee bit tired of homemade gifts, but too bad.) these take a little time to prepare, you know.

so i'm sending a big thank you to the folks over at sew, momma, sew! who have, on their blog, decided to turn november into handmade holidays month. each day, they bring you a new project, complete with tutorials! how cool. (in case anyone out there doesn't sew, but you like some of the things on the list, email me about comissioning work!)

inspiration boards

happy birthday to me! i am 26 (ouch!) today. by the way, working on your birthday kind of sucks. but mr. m gave me some lovely gifts this morning (thank you my love!), and we're going to o-town for dinner with the family tonight, so the day will turn out lovely!

i have been meaning to make myself an inspiration board. i bought some cork squares that i want to put up over my craft area in the office, but i've been waiting until i painted the room to actually assemble the board.

i have not painted that room yet. sigh.

until i get my own board up, i can visit the blog of another crafty lady who talks with crafters about their own inspiration boards. the blog was born from a flickr group.

check it out. it's pretty inspiring!

keep your laptop warm this winter!

so rather than clean my disgustingly messy and disorganized house yesterday, mr. m watched football while i started a new crafty project. i had been mulling over said project for the last couple of weeks, and was suddenly hit with the urge to make it.

after i figured out the measurements, it was surprisingly easy. the pattern may look familiar, if you've seen my iPod cozies...

it's a laptop cozy! made from felt, (my favorite!) this cozy is double layered for extra protection. the outer layer is a nice soft grey, and the inner a fuzzy moss green. the flower is machine appliqued, with a button closure. i may pop this guy (or future cozies) up on etsy, if anyone is interested... would make a great christmas gifts (mom- for the sisters who have new laptops and who we know don't read this blog!).

this one (essentially a functional prototype) fits a 12 inch powerbook. i can make other sizes.

it's double stitched for added durability!

i wanted to make the liner pink, but i didn't have enough of one piece to make it. the next one will! i love pink.